Sand And Ash
by Blue and Simbelmyne
Summary: After years of living in the desert Naruto is sent back to simpler times. Yet the change is not welcomed, after finally coming to terms with both their deaths and the violent way they came about, seeing the ghosts of his past is the last thing he wanted.
1. Prologue : All Has Turn To Sand And Ash

**Title:** Sand And Ash

**Description:**After years of living in the desert thirty two year old Naruto is seemingly sent back to simpler times. Yet the change is not welcomed, after finally coming to terms with both their deaths and the violent way it came about, seeing the ghosts of his past is the last thing Naruto wanted.

**AN: **If there is romance, it's undetermined. Most likely slash, though not between Gaara and Naruto. And it will be a gradual thing. There will be a word bank at the end of the chapter. The tribe that Gaara and Naruto are with is based _very_ loosely off of Frank Herbert's Fremen. You'll see the influences if you know where to look.

* * *

**Prologue : **All Has Turn To Sand And Ash

Naruto stared at the sand that seemed to stretch out forever. The late afternoon air struck his face, lifting the fabric of his shemagh slightly. The air was cooling as evening approached and while no longer oppressively hot, it was still an unwelcome visitor. Behind him, the sun was preparing to disappear behind the tall dunes.

His nose twitched. A storm was coming. Building just somewhere over the horizon. The Mother Desert was a tricky mistress; she'd kill you just as quickly as she could. But that was what made her safe. After ten years of living in the never ending sand trap Naruto liked to think he'd gotten to know her quite well. Turning abruptly his jubba cloak shifted violently with the motion, sending the sand that had gathered overtop its ends up in a small cloud.

He made his way across the dune, the sidewise pattern of his feet upsetting as little sand as possible with practiced ease. Naruto smirked as the caravan came into view. The dull, tan-grey of tents already peppered the orange sands. Already he could see the lasts of the herders pushing their precious and dangerously small number of goats into their tents.

_Good. Gaara's already gotten them prepared._

Naruto nodded to the perimeter guards before sneezing violently. The guard closest to him sighed and began to reconstruct his jubba tent with more speed. Naruto sneezes usually meant big storms.

He strolled towards the only real splash of color in camp, a red letter splashed across a tent flap. Red was the only color these people recognized, the only color they had a true word for. Red was the color of blood, and blood was the life water of the body. Red was life. And it was a color reserved for the holy man of the tribe, the Baraka. For Gaara.

A smirk pulled at his lips – only to be instantly removed at the memory of another child that had no natural sense of stealth. But Naruto wouldn't let ghosts take the humor from the situation, and he allowed the smirk to once more take twist his lips. Naruto shook his head as he crouched down next to a quivering lump of sand.

_When will Hanan ever learn?_

He lifted the edge of the cloak and peaked at the wide brown eyed child staring up at him. A heavy blush instantly enveloped the tanned six year olds face. Naruto shook his head with a chuckle.

"Hello Hanan."

"Um," Flustered the child looked down at the sand. "Hello Naib-Hadi."

Naruto lifted the cloak off the child completely and helped her get to her feet. "Now, now Hanan, you know that Zahid doesn't like it when you play outside his tent."

The little girl nodded, drawing patterns in the sand with her bare foot. "Sorry."

He brushed the sand from the girl's body before wrapping the jubba cloak around her once again. Naruto clicked his tongue. It was clearly oversized for a child.

"Hanan. This wouldn't happen to be your father's cloak would it?" The blush spread. Sighing he gave her a short swat on the bottom and a push towards her tent. "A storm's coming. Get home and obey your parents."

"Yes Naib-Hadi." Hanan mumbled something disrespectful (he'd let that one slid this time) and walked forlornly towards her home.

"Quicker please!" With a dramatic sigh she jogged over to her tent. He watched he was sure she'd gone inside before slipping into Gaara's tent. The Tanuki container sat in his usual position, grinding a paste like substance continuously over a stone slab.

"Hm, who's that for?" He asked, pulling his jubba cloak off and tossing it in a random corner.

"Ila's daughter has a rash."

"Ah." The blonde slid down onto one of the few floor pillows. "Hanan was watching you again." Nothing. "Were you busy today Zahid?" Silence. "Gaara?"

"No."

Naruto shook his head. He'd known Gaara for over twenty years now and the red head still talked as much as a rock. He sighed, reaching up to pull hisshemagh off. He ran a hand through his blond hair absent mindedly. It had gotten long over the years. He still liked to keep it somewhat short – anything past his shoulders and it drove Naruto nuts. He usually kept wrapped with fabric. Both effectively containing it from getting and keeping sand out of it.

He snorted. Well. Maybe that was impossible. The sand here got into everything. It got into your very bones. He fell backwards with a huff, lying awkwardly with his legs still folded over the pillow but his upper body spread out across the rugs. He could still remember the color of trees. He tried to remember the last time he'd been one. How the bark had felt, how the leaves had smelled. He could almost feel it…

Naruto shook his head, trying to quell the longing that had blossomed in his heart.

It was too dangerous to leave the desert. And Konoha was no longer the home it once was. The strong scent of spice tea filled the tent and Naruto glanced up from his thoughts to find Gaara feeding the chopped up product into a boiling pot. He allowed his head to drop onto the rugs once more, staring at the tented ceiling. Outside the starts of the storm was arriving, the patter of sand hitting the tent fabric filling the air.

The gourd holding Gaara's charka imbibed sand rattled slightly in response but a sharp look from Gaara silence it. It was funny, Naruto had never seen the desert as anything other then a wasteland. How wrong he had been. Life existed on different levels here – but it was here. Even the sand itself seemed alive.

_I wish…_

He wished he could have showed Kakashi this. Out of the old pains that haunted him, for some reason the ones surrounding his old teacher were the strongest. He could deal with Sasuke being dead. Honestly, Naruto had realized that was going to happen long before it did. Some things done to the body simply can not be healed. And while Naruto missed Sasuke daily, he was smart enough to realize that death was the only way his friend could every truly find peace.

He could deal with the memories of the war, of the destruction of the majority of the great villages at _that_ demon's hands. He could even deal with the deaths of those first few precious people who had called him friend.

Naruto could handle the nightmares, the memories. The love for the people who called him Naib – for the people who had taken him and Gaara in, regardless of their pasts and treated them as their own – from the strength their love gave him, he could deal with those.

But he for some odd reason Kakashi's death had always been the one that had affected him the most. His left hand flexed and he could almost feel the weight of his teachers hand in his own. He and his old teacher, they had grown so much closer then he'd ever thought was possible. Naruto supposed that after being on the run with someone for two years such things happened.

But it was more then that. Kakashi was the last bit of Konoha left for Naruto. While they stood together there were two leaf headbands, not one. As long as Kakashi was with him, Naruto wasn't alone. The war had changed them both in ways that neither had anticipated and the friendship that had bloomed was something in itself. Naruto closed his hand, trying to erase the once and only time he'd seen Kakashi without his mask from his mind. In the end, the teacher that Naruto had long ago convinced himself cared more about Sasuke then him had ended up giving his life for him.

The lump in his throat was back again and Naruto swallowed harshly around it. He wished he could have shown his precious people the kindness of his tribe. Shown them how he had not abandoned his dream to become Hokage, only altered it. He wanted to show them his role of Naib. How he watched over his people and protected them from _him_. Constantly moving so they would stay out from under _his_ seeing eyes.

He wanted to take Shikamaru and show him the ingenious water pumps and water recycling system that kept his people alive. Show Sasuke the unique and deadly way that his new people fought; a knife style that used small burst of charka and sound as weapons. Walk Sakura and Ino and Hinata down the desert dunes during the cold nights, showing them stars in numbers they could have never dreamed of. He could never see the hounds that helped herd the goats, a breed competently inside itself, without thinking of Kiba.

Ultimately he wished he could have shown Kakashi the beauty of the desert. It struck Naruto as deeply unfair that the silver haired Jounin died before he could understand the wonder of his graveyard.

But that was the past. And Naruto rarely let himself be bothered by it anymore. Long ago he'd come to terms with their deaths. Should he ever find himself in position to revenge them, he would do it. But the likeliness of that ever happening was slim. And Naruto had his tribe to look after now. All of his energy went into keeping them safe and blind from_him_.

There was an eruption of heat on his forehead and Naruto opened his eyes with a short wail as he scrambled to move the hot tea cup form his forehead. A short glare at Gaara revealed him back at work on his paste, this time sealing it in a goat's bladder to keep the moisture in.

He eyed the quite man. Though the red head had lived with sand his whole life, the desert had changed him. He was tan, dark enough for the color of his tattoo to shift color. He still kept his hair painfully short, covered almost always in a simple tan and red shemagh. Even now he wore the thing, though out of politeness he'd rested it around his shoulders and left his head bare.

He guessed he shouldn't have been surprised that the only real survivors of _his_ wraith had been Jinchuriki. Naruto drank the spice tea, his lips drawing back from his teeth at the strength of the dark liquid.

"You made it strong today Gaara."

"The storm will be long."

Naruto nodded, understanding the cryptic answers Gaara gave was like second nature to him now. He could still remember the relief, the downright joy he'd felt when he'd felt the Kyuubi all but yank him towards the Gaara's hiding place. Together he and Gaara could survive. And together they would protect this tribe. He as the Naib and Gaara as the Baraka.

He had to admit, he was surprised to with the exuberance – well, as much of that as he was capable of having – that Gaara took to the job. Being the tribe's holy magic man seemed to suit the sand user just fine.

"Drink your tea."

Translation: Stop thinking so much.

Naruto nodded, sipping the hot tea gently, rolling the sharp flavor across his tongue. "Hey Gaara?" He spoke on, knowing he wasn't going to get a response. "I think we should go back."

The only sound that filled the tent was the sound of the sand and the rustling of Gaara wrapping the medicine. Then, "Bring me more sheep bladder."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Snarky bastard. No wonder you never made friends." He barely ducked the stone mortar, snorting in humor under his breath as he exited the tent, hastily pulling his shemagh and jubba cloak on.

The storm was strong now, whipping his cloak fiercely around his calves. Though the storage tent was only a few steps away Naruto could only make out its outlines. For the normal human it would be invisible. He took a step forward and froze, his head snapping towards the ground. The sand curved up his legs possessively now, almost stretching the fabric of his pants as it gripped on.

_What the hell is Gaara thinking? Surely that comment didn't piss him off that much!_

Naruto's eyes widened as there was a crashing sound from within the tent, followed almost immediately by a short cry of rage.

_Wait! Gaara isn't doing this!_

He swung around violently, flipping open the tent flap. What he saw froze Naruto in his tracts. Gaara's own sand was _attacking_ him, encasing him in a hard shell of itself. Gaara looked up at him, and panicked blue met shocked green ones, then the sand encased him. Letting out a shout Naruto tried to run to his aid but only tripped. The sand had taken advantage of his moment of distraction and now covered his entire legs, reaching with ever gaining speed towards his waist and then chest. No matter how much he tore at the sand, it came back even faster.

He managed one desperate scream before the sand filled his mouth, reaching far enough down his throat it made his lungs burn. Naruto's body heaved as the sand filled his nostrils and stung his eyes, leaving him breathless and defenseless. The last thing he was aware of was the feel of its heavy weight crushing down on him.

* * *

So what do you think? I'm going to have the next chapter up soon. I'm trying to do a different twist on the 'go back in time and fix stuff' story. Hope you liked it!

**Word Bank:**

**  
Baraka** - A living holy man with magical powers.

**Hadi** - The Desert Name given to Naruto once he joined the tribe and became Naib, means 'Guiding Light"

**The Harj** - literally, "Desert Journey/Migration. Refers to the constant nomadic lifestyle of the Naruto's people.

**Jubba cloak** - a long, all purpose cloak that reflects heat or radiates it depending on how it is adjusted. It is also designed to convert into hammock or a small tent if needed.

**Jinchuriki **– Humans with demons sealed inside them (I.E. Naruto and Gaara).

**Naib** - the leader of the tribe.

**Shemagh **- a traditional covering of the face that protects the wearer from wind and sand.

**Tanuki **- The type of demon sealed inside Gaara, Japanese for "Raccoon-dog."

**Zahid** - Gaara's tribe name, means 'Self-denying". Given to him for his sleeping habits.


	2. Ghosts of the Past

**Title:** Sand And Ash

**Description:**After years of living in the desert thirty two year old Naruto is seemingly sent back to simpler times. Yet the change is not welcomed, after finally coming to terms with both their deaths and the violent way it came about, seeing the ghosts of his past is the last thing Naruto wanted.

**Language notes:**

"Text" – Japanese

»« - Language of the Harj people.

**Chapter 1: **Ghosts of the Past

* * *

_Part One: Arrival_

The first thing he was aware of was the burning in his throat, or rather the lack there of it. He groaned, bringing his hand up to press against his throbbing throat. The ghosts of the sand still haunted it. His muscles ached from the strength with which he had fought the sand. What the hell had happened? How had Gaara lost control like that?

He brought his hand up to rub his forehead. Why did that hurt? He didn't remember hitting his head…

Naruto groaned and forced himself to roll over, pushing himself up with shaky arms. Despite the pervious events of his night, this was the first moment that Naruto found himself feeling that he may be dealing with something completely out of his league.

And that would be because his hand was currently not even a fourth of his normal size. He moved into a sitting position, staring at his hands like they were utterly foreign to him. Blue eyes traced the soft skin, completely free of callous or scars.

_The hands of a child._

Surely this must be a dream. These were his hands. He knew they were. But how was it possible that he had shrunk so? Naruto stood, coughing harshly as his lungs protested the movement.

_Gaara._ The instant realization that the red haired Jinchuriki was not with him brought a round of panic. _Where is Gaara?_

Naruto swung around, searching for any sign of his friend. But the Baraka was no where to be seen. A green field stretched out before him, the grass so tall that it came to his shoulders. The wind brought a familiar scent to his nose and Naruto turned abruptly towards its source, his eyes widening slightly as he caught sight of a familiar village cresting over the nearby hill.

His feet were moving before he realized what was going on and Naruto found himself sprinting towards the hillside. Some part of his mind noticed with great displeasure that his speed had greatly diminished and that brought up all kinds of other questions that his gut whispered were going to bring equally disappointing answers.

Still the Kyuubi inside his belly assured that he was still somewhat quick and he reached the top of the hill shortly. He stood stock still, mouth parted slightly at what greeted his sight. Unconsciously he brought a hand to rest against his seal. The Kyuubi was the one great constant in Naruto's life, and he would admit without shame that its presence inside him reassured him at this moment.

For Konoha was before him, whole and bursting with life.

* * *

It was a good thing that he'd never really gotten on with the people of this village, because Naruto was sure the shell shocked looks he had given them as he'd wandered the reborn town most likely didn't earn him any friends.

An hour later and Naruto was stunned to find himself in his childhood apartment, staring at an all to familiar dirty one bedroom, one bath. He moved across the carpeting soundlessly, lightly. Desert walking. But he was no longer in his desert. No, Naruto was in a village that had been dead for twelve years.

He had to reach up to the doorknob, and it felt unpleasantly cold against his palm. The wooded door was heavy, though he'd never remembered it being so, and it took him a moment to push it open. His bathroom greeted him and it took Naruto a moment to recognize it.

_That's right. It was blue before the paint had faded._

Everything was so new – so clean.

The image in the bathroom mirror caused the blood to drain from his face. Well, first Naruto had to stand on a foot stool because he was apparently insanely short, but once that was done the reflection he saw left him completely and utterly confused.

Because Naruto wasn't five, he was thirty two.

He swayed and instinctively grabbed onto the sink edge for support. A terrible migraine had erupted across the front of his forehead and Naruto swore. Slowly, carefully, he climbed down from his stool and stepped away from the mirror, carefully avoiding his reflection. Now he stood in his bathroom's doorway and assessed his situation. Naruto didn't know how long he stood, staring at the broken tile positioned right in front of the sink, thinking.

But when it was over Naruto had come up with four possibilities.

One, he was dead and this was some kind of really sick joke pulled on the creator. Just one more in a line of many. Or maybe he was in purgatory. Naruto wasn't really sure where Jinchuriki went when they died.

Two, this was an illusion by _him, _though Naruto quickly eliminated this option. Even this was to elaborate for _him. He _could only make him relive scenes of his past, not create new ones. Besides, this was not the way the bastard liked to trick and kill.

Option three was almost as appealing logically to Naruto as option one. Somehow from the period of leaving Gaara's tent he'd gone mad. He'd lost his damn mind.

Or four, somehow he'd been sent back in time.

After a while Naruto ruled out option number one as well. Perhaps it was the presence of the Kyuubi inside his stomach or something greater, but Naruto knew without a doubt that he was alive. It was the same way that Naruto knew he wasn't crazy. Well. Not that crazy.

Which left him with a problem. Because that only left option four. And Naruto didn't know if he could bring himself to believe that. He hoped he was just crazy.

He brought himself to his small, yet comfortable sofa and collapsed into. Again, he first had to heave his small frame onto of it. The shortness was going to be a major adjustment. He crossed his legs, bringing his hands together in his lap, and thought.

Naruto watched the shadows shift across his empty apartment as the sun grew lower and lower in the sky, a sadness filled him that he hadn't felt in over ten years.

He had no family here.

If he was truly as young as his mirror wanted him to believe, Naruto had no one. Not even Iruka yet. For what would most likely be the first of a very common ailment, Naruto found himself homesick for the desert and the Harj.

By now they would be gathered in the main tent to dine and Naruto would be doing the sacred ceremonies of blessing and thanks above the food. He could almost feel his people around him, hear their laughter and affection towards each other. Taste the food.

Surely they would not be laughing now, with their Naib gone. And Baraka as well, if Gaara had been sent to Suna. Naruto leaned back against the cushion. Vias would be leading them now. He could only hope that the old veteran had had enough sense to pull up camp and move further in desert. Without either Jinchuriki to mask their presence, they would be like open ducks to _him._

The grip his on his hands tightened as he fought his worry. What would become of his beloved tribe if he was stuck in this place? Would they be slaughtered like everyone else? Would they…

Naruto shook his head and made his way to his balcony door with decisive steps and threw it open. The evening air struck him and Naruto sighed. He'd almost forgotten that wind could be neutral – not carrying the burning heat or consuming cold of the desert – but simply be a soft caress. Naruto pulled himself onto the railing, swinging his feet over the edge. He used to sit like this all the time when he was younger.

Naruto stared out over the many streets and buildings around him. Memory of how many sights and smells such a large village could have seemed to of left him after his years in the desert and he found it overwhelming now.

Tomorrow he'd go out and try to gather information. Wherever – whenever – the hell he was. Naruto was going to make best advantage of it and find his way back home.

For now he settled for watching the movement of the people below them. He didn't recognize many but then again Naruto wasn't really looking. Once again his mind was on his people's welfare and Gaara.

_If this is the past, is Gaara in Suna? _

Naruto hoped not. That place held little good memories for the red head. And he had no idea how he'd react to the presence of his siblings. Would it hurt his friend to see the way they feared him once more? Or would the fact they were simply alive and well be too much for him to handle?

_Should I go-_

His thought was cut off abruptly by a flash of silver a few streets away. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched for it. A moment later it returned and Naruto felt his tongue glue itself to his mouth. While he naturally had rather good eyesight, Naruto still found his eyes focused automatically. The silver took the form of a man – with a startled shriek Naruto keeled over backwards, his hands flying to his eyes in agony.

He hit the deck with a resounding thud, though the pain was completely unnoticed amongst the stabbing pain of his eyes. Gritting his teeth against it, Naruto dug his palms into his eyelids. Almost as quickly as it had come it was gone, leaving a terrible ache somewhere behind his eyes. Naruto groaned as he slid his hands from his eyes, gripping his hair in frustration. Since when had a simple act such as using his charka to sharpen his eyesight brought pain?

_This is ridiculous. _

Frustration was a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth and he was horrified to find himself shaking terribly. He clutched at the railing in an attempt to support himself and realized with a jolt that he was lucky he hadn't fallen off the deck completely.

Who knew what that would have done in his current state. A weariness filled him as he stared down at the path below him. For all he knew a three story fall could kill him right now. Naruto couldn't remember ever being so vulnerable in his life.

_I must be careful until I've found out this body's limits._

He stared at his tiny hands with a deep frown.

_Or remembered._

But Naruto wasn't quite ready to give into that theory quite yet.

* * *

Over three months in this existence seemed to have quickly convinced Naruto that any hopes he had of this simply being an episode of insanity that would quickly pass left. It seemed he was indeed five years old. He hadn't even entered the academy yet for the god's sake. 

Naruto spent his rather copious amount of free time relearning Konoha and generally trying to avoid anyone he could have possibly had contact with before. That had come about after a particularly disturbing meeting with the very, very young Sakura.

He had simply stared at her, open mouthed for a good ten minutes. On the outside he was sure Naruto looked rather ridiculous, and to give his old friend credit she did her very best to looked unperturbed by his attention. At some point her mother had come out and threatened him. But Naruto hadn't even registrued her presence until Sakura's father came at him with a shovel. He was to busy having a melt down on the inside.

Fifteen years. That was how long it had taken him to come to terms with Sakura's death. Fifteen excruciating years and countless hours of therapy and support from Kakashi and Gaara.

Fifteen years of work destroyed with one glimpse of her. If Naruto hadn't known that _he_ hadn't been born yet, he would have sworn it was on of his illusions. That was how violent the moments he'd spent reliving her death had been. Undoubtedly it had shown when he had watched her. Ali had always joked that his eyes gave away his feelings. That was why she'd made him his first shemagh – in an attempt to make him more Haji-like and less emotional.

If only the desert woman could see him now.

And so Naruto became hermit. The last thing he wanted to see was ghosts. Somehow he felt horribly cheated. He's worked damn hard to get past what had happened in that forsaken war and now – now he was going to have to go through it all again.

He longed for the simple life of the desert. For the feel of the sand beneath his feet and the thick smell of the desert. And he missed Gaara something terrible. Naruto longed to go to Suna and see if his friend was there, but at five years old and mostly untrained it be a miracle if he got passed the Konoha border guards.

Naruto was attempting to bring his body up to something he could consider decent, but it was surprising difficult. He was constantly injuring himself – it seemed impossible at first for him to adjust to his new limitations. Still, Naruto forced himself into the isolated field that had served as his playpen as a child and trained. Slowly, inch by painful inch, Naruto managed to grasp his new size and limitations.

That alone had taken him two months. He dared not do any major charka, bringing down the attention of the Anbu that watched his movements like a hawk already, was the last thing he wanted. How the hell could he explain something he didn't understand himself?

_Why had I never noticed how carefully they watched me when I was young?_

The Anbu knew better then to waste time and energy on him and they did the minimal to keep themselves from being seen. It took much more of Naruto's control to keep himself from staring at their mock hiding places is disgust then he'd like to admit. Somehow such a petty thing had insulted him, as juvenile as that sounded.

But at this point Naruto didn't really give a shit.

They checked on him once a day, sometimes twice, like clockwork. All he had to do was keep track of the time and he'd be fine. This was how he'd established he could still use his charka decently. Tree and water walking still came as second nature to him, as did the shadow clones.

Despite the Kyuubi's charka his age tired him quickly and Naruto found himself spending far less time training then he would have preferred.

The meeting with Sakura had brought up all kind of demons and Naruto spend most of his time dwelling on them in a most unhealthy and pointless way. He knew that Gaara would be displeased if he was with him, but the sand user was gone. And while Naruto had never forgotten the consuming loneliness of his childhood, it seemed somehow amplified now that he had tasted something else.

Without the urge to draw attention to himself, Naruto kept contact with others a bare minimum. This made him feel even more isolated then ever. With no school and no reason for the old man to scold him, Naruto could easily go an entire day without coming into contact with another human being.

He spent most of his time outside of training watching people from a safe distance. He knew that he scared many and angered many more. He told himself he was sparing everyone the stress of their daily interactions, but Naruto knew that was a lie. He was protecting himself from his already tenacious memories.

The nightmares were back - far stronger then they'd ever been before. Naruto had stopped sleeping in his bed completely. It was too soft and at this point completely destroyed by the force of his dreams. He found himself sleeping on his roof, retreating to his living room floor only when it rained.

His apartment decayed even further then before, simply because he had all but stopped using it. The only things even remotely clean were the kitchen and bathroom. The reemergence of the shower in his life was, to Naruto, the one and only good thing about his return to the past.

It was around the fifth month mark that Naruto came to a rather horrifying realization. Itachi Uchiha was still an Anbu. It had been years since he had last sensed the dark man's presence, but the night that Itachi had come to check on him was burned into Naruto's memory.

Naruto would kick himself for his reaction later. How had he not thought about Itachi? The Uchiha would have just made Anbu. The massacre wouldn't happen until the end of the year. Yet he hadn't spared the dark man a second thought, and when Naruto felt that foreboding presence he had dropped the book he was reading rather ungracefully into his curry, his head snapping towards the end of his roof.

He had no idea what made the newly minted Anbu reveal himself to Naruto but for a moment the two simply stared at each other. Then Itachi was gone, leaving a horrified five year old behind him. On top of rousing the other's sense of curiosity, which presented itself in random moments of observation, Naruto was left with a terrible revelation.

Sasuke was going to lose his entire family in just over six months and there was absolutely nothing Naruto could do about it.

And thus began a whole new brand of self torture and loathing.

* * *

_Part Two: Silver and White_

And like this two more months pasted. His birthday came and went and as he reached the seventh month mark, Naruto's body was finally starting to respond physically the way he wanted it to. The improvements were tantalizing small, but it was start. He'd honestly somehow forgotten how terrible he was with certain abilities. It was a great frustration for him and more often then not Naruto left his hidden training areas with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Despite this, training was truly the only time he could block the images of his past and the need for his home from his mind and as such he clung to it. And he committed as much time to it as his fragile body would allow.

Winter had gripped the village and coated it heavily with thick, packing snow. Snow, Naruto admitted, was quite something to see. He trudged across the unshoveled pathways in the new winter clothing that the Hokage had presented to him.

Meeting with the old man had been awkward and emotional. Naruto hadn't been able to sleep for weeks afterwards and he could tell that his reactions had both puzzled and confused the old man.

Naruto decided he'd try to keep the old man alive for as long as he could this time around. The village would need him for what was coming. It was the first time Naruto had given a thought to trying to change the future, of trying to prevent the tragedies that were to come. Naruto didn't know what to think about this new step, nor had he decided how far he would take it. It just seemed as though his mind had set itself on saving the old man without his permission. An instant moment of decision.

He had to be grateful for the freedom of being Naruto Uzumaki granted him. He could not think of another child who could walk the night like he was right now. Despite the time, the snow and the waxing moon above lit up the world. At this hour hardly anyone was moving, and Konoha was cast in a silent stillness that for some reason greatly appealed to Naruto.

His feet lead him steadily towards the hillside that he had first seen Konoha on. It and the seemingly never-ending field and trees behind it had become…sentimental to him. Perhaps because it was the place he'd first entered the past, or maybe because he just spent so much of his time there.

He trudged through the snow, shivering slightly even in his new jacket, watching as his boots sank into the snow with each step. He barely noticed when he reached his hill, or how long he stared up at the moonless sky. Naruto found himself mesmerized by the pattern of falling snow, and his mind left completely.

For once, Naruto wasn't reliving the war or replaying his fondest memories of his mind. He was simply…gone. It was the first real moment of peace he'd gotten since his arrival.

He had no idea how long he stood there or how long he was gone. Some distant part of his mind registered that the slow snow fall had climbed over his boots and come level almost with the laces, just as it gave a muted warning about the stiffness of his legs. But nothing could pull Naruto from his moment of peace. As such, he couldn't honestly tell when it was that someone else joined him on his hill.

Regardless, it was this moment that Naruto would label as his first real mistake. Somehow, he, Naruto Hadi Uzumaki, Jounin ranked nin and Naib of the entire Haji tribe, had missed the arrival of Kakashi Hatake.

Naruto first became aware of the silent man by his side when the wind shifted and carried his scent to him. With a painful sluggishness he pulled his consciousness away from whatever plateau it had discovered and forced himself to return.

It was strangely difficult thing to do and it took him some time to pull his thoughts together enough to turn and look behind him. The silver Jounin was watching him, his head crooked slightly to the side, looking alien in his Anbu outfit. He held his animal mask in his left hand, a scroll in his right.

It took Naruto's scattered thoughts a moment to comprehend who was standing in front of him. Then without warning it clicked and Naruto felt his breath catch and then come in rapid succession.

_Kakashi._

Gods he looked so young. He _is_ so young. He must be…what? Nineteen? Twenty? Naruto's tongue suddenly seemed too big for his mouth and he fought to swallow around it. Outside of Sasuke and Itachi, there was no one else that Naruto had fought so hard to avoid.

The silence between the two of them stretched. Then almost without warning, movement returned to his body and Naruto fled.

* * *

**Time Line:**

**Key:**

Text – Normal Time Line

_Text_ – Altered Time Line

**˚** 0 – Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto.

**˚** 5 –_Naruto arrives in the past._

**˚** 6 - The Uchiha clan is massacred, Sasuke is 7.

**˚** 12 – Naruto graduates and is given his first team.

**˚** 13 –Gaara and Naruto meet for the first time.

**˚** 17 – War begins. Sakura is killed.

**˚** 20 – Sasuke is killed. Naruto flees with Kakashi

**˚** 22 – Kakashi is killed. Naruto meets up with Gaara . The Tribe takes them in.

**˚**32 – Naruto is sent into the past.

**Word Bank:**  
**  
Baraka** - A living holy man with magical powers.

**Hadi** - The Desert Name given to Naruto once he joined the tribe and became Naib, means 'Guiding Light"

**The Harj** - literally, "Desert Journey/Migration." Refers to the constant nomadic lifestyle of the Naruto's people. Is also the clan's namesake.

**Jinchuriki **– Humans with demons sealed inside them (I.E. Naruto and Gaara).

**Naib** - the leader of the tribe.

**Shemagh **- a traditional covering of the face that protects the wearer from wind and sand.


	3. Meetings

**Title:** Sand And Ash

**Description: **After years of living in the desert thirty two year old Naruto is seemingly sent back to simpler times. Yet the change is not welcomed, after finally coming to terms with both their deaths and the violent way it came about, seeing the ghosts of his past is the last thing Naruto wanted.

Main POVs: Just Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke for now.

**Language notes:**

"Text" – Japanese

»« - Language of the Harj people.

Apologizing for the typos ahead of time, will put up a clean copy later, I promise.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Reintroductions**

_Part One: Of Tea _

The incident with Kakashi had managed to scare him away from his hill and Naruto had steadfastly refused to leave his apartment unless absolutely necessary. The Uchiha massacre was coming up much faster then Naruto was comfortable with. He had thought briefly about telling someone what was going to happen, or even trying to talk to Itachi. But Naruto wasn't stupid, he knew those conversations would lead. He had no creditability, no standing, and no power. This event must run the course set for it. Naruto could do nothing else but wait. All he wanted to do was exclude himself from the outside world until this nightmare was over.

In short, he wanted to hide in his apartment until it was over.

It didn't matter though, because the outside world came to him. He had grown used to the ANBU's occasional and brief presences in his life – Naruto was even starting to seem nonchalant when Itachi observed him – but the first time Hatake Kakashi came to observe him, he had dropped his skillet all over his stove and kitchen floor.

He was poor, but _gods_ had he forgotten how poor he was as a child, he had still managed to wean himself off the rather affordable instant ramen. He had found a local Suna grocery and had been purchasing the food from there ever since. It wasn't cheap, the store owners usually added a little plus to the price when it came to him, but the increases wasn't nearly steep as the other shop owners.

Something, Naruto could only guess, that came from his innate knowledge of customs from that area. He cooked pita bread daily, a sort of flat bread from flour, water and salt, and often that was a staple part of his meal. Rice and some sort of meat (lamb when he could afford it) made up the rest. Because of how expensive meat was for him, Naruto usually only ate it once a day, if even.

It was a little taste of home and Naruto was ever grateful that Ali had taught him how to cook so well before he had…left the tribe. He was cooking his meat meal for the day when Kakashi came. He was shifting the goat meat, prodding at it with skillful fingers, watching it brown the way he wanted it to. The small bunch of nuts he had shelled and added in were slowly bleeding out there oil onto the meat and the smell of it was absolutely divine.

He had been in the process of transferring the meat on to his already rice laden plate when he'd felt his old teacher's presence. He felt as if his hair had literally stood on end and he froze, barely balancing the scalding hot skillet in his hand as he registered the all too familiar charka. Kakashi wasn't even trying to hide his presence! The small blonde shook his head, wondering if the current ANBU member didn't care if he sensed him or really thought he was that untalented.

What made him drop his precious pieces of meat onto the floor was when he looked towards his balcony door, willing a glare towards the ANBUs general direction and realized the white haired man was standing on his deck – staring directly at him.

Naruto froze, not even caring that his only meat based meal was scattered across his stove and poorly tiled floor. For a moment the two of them simply stared at each other, blue locking with slate before Naruto forced himself to look down at his food. He had a really bad habit of giving away too much when he was surprised. Like with Itachi, who still made unscheduled visits of curiosity. He had also tipped off the wicked man that he was aware of him.

Naruto ducked down, pulling up the already dirt covered food and tossing it in the skin – he'd wash and reuse it another time. He grabbed his plate, wishing he could afford spices to offer some sort of taste to the plain rice before setting it down on his one and only table.

He was silently embarrassed when he realized that his apartment was destroyed – he hadn't cleaned it, hadn't even used most of the surfaces in the area in quite a while. Dirt and debris was everywhere (he mentally slapped himself for all those time he left the balcony door open.)

Naruto forced himself to take a deep breath – aware that Kakashi was still watching his every move – and moved to take his tea off of the stove. A quick glance at the stove clock revealed a terrifying option he hadn't even thought of. It wasn't time for an ANBU to check on him, in fact, now that Naruto thought of it he'd already had his night time visit.

Could the world truly not just leave him peace for a few days? A glance out of the corner of his eyes revealed Kakashi in the same spot. The moonlight backlit him, hiding his features more efficiently then his mask ever could do and cast his hair into mass of spiky, glowing light.

How old was Kakashi now? Twenty? That sounded about right but Naruto was slightly surprised by how thin and young the man still looked. Resigning himself to his fate the blonde pulled down two cups.

He was a Haji after all. And decorum dictated that he treat his guests with utmost respect – and his teachers with even greater reverence. The first thing a polite host did was offer tea. And so that's what he did.

He only had one chair, so he set the cup down on the table facing the glass doors before sitting down to his meal. He ate the food carefully and without much gusto – his hunger had disappeared and no doubt would not reappear under such an evaluating stare.

Naruto broke his pita bread into pieces, using a large, narrow chunk to serve as his utensils. He was almost through his meager portion of rice when he heard the sliding door open and then close again. Par for the course, Naruto hardly heard the air light footsteps of his teacher as he crossed across his disgustingly dirty carpet.

He did his best not to stare out of the corner of his eye as he ate, but it was a hard thing to do. Naruto took a deep breath through his nose, his senses twitching when he smelled the blood that saturated the ANBU's personage. He watched as a glove hand took the tea and then disappeared from his sight. A moment latter there was a thud as his ANBU mask landed on the table. Naruto stood, collecting his plate and doing his best to generally ignore the presence by his side and placed it in the sink, returning with a bowl of dates.

He placed it on the table, nudging it towards Kakashi while he brought his own tea to his lips. The heavy spice tea was just the way he liked it and for a moment he took a deep breath, allowing the heady smell to fill his acute senses. He found the combined smell of the spice and the blood coating his future teacher more enjoyable then he knew was decent, but for now, Naruto was content to enjoy it.

"You have no fear of me."

The blond started and looked at the older man for the first time. Even with most of his face hidden, Naruto could still see the blatant curiosity on the silver haired man's face. He set his tea down on the table, unwilling to take his hands from what was virtually the only heat in his apartment (seriously, how had he survived before missions?) and shrugged.

"Are you here to hurt me?"

"No."

"Then what do I have to fear?" Naruto asked softly, watching as his breath took a misty shape in front of his face. Kakashi's head cocked to the side, a look on it that Naruto could honestly say he had never seen before.

"I could kill you."

"Most likely." Naruto took another sip of his tea. This, this was a Kakashi he had never been exposed to. A Kakashi who he couldn't predict. He really wished Kakashi would leave. But he knew that he had no power to make him leave. This was something he would just have to wait out.

He set his tea down with a sigh, bringing his hand up to rub his forehead. Wasn't that his tune of late? Nothing he could do. Just had to wait it out. Then he could act. How many bloodied stepping stones of the future would Naruto have to ignore?

"If you do not fear me, why did you run that night?"

The blond stared at his cup, watching the steam rise from it. "You startled me."

He nearly let out a shout, managing to mute it to a small shriek of fear as Kakashi was suddenly upon him. The silver haired ANBU lifted him easily by his neck. Honestly, it sounds worst then it was. The grip on his throat was awkward more then it was painful. Naruto had been through far worse.

Naruto calmed his breathing and brought his eyes to stare at his future teacher with as neutral look as he could manage. He had heard of this time – in low whispers and rumors.

The time when his teacher was as reckless and unbalanced as Sasuke. When he was the ANBU of death.

He had always wondered about this time, now it would seem that he would have a chance to see this dark side of his teacher, unhithered by the careless mask he would later develop.

Naruto was somewhat pleased by this thought – he was going to see the only real part of his teacher he knew nothing of – but at the same time he felt slightly like he was invading his Kakashi's privacy. If his teacher had wanted Naruto to see this side of him, he would have shown him.

Again, something he could not control. How often was that the case his tiny, weak body? The grip on his throat tightened and forcibly brought the blonde back to reality. Then as suddenly as it had come, Kakashi released him. He landed neatly on his feet, swaying for a moment before forcing himself to swallow. Naruto cracked his neck and then reached for his tea, only to have his wrist grabbed in a bone crushing grip by the ANBU.

Naruto stared up at him, trying to appear as non-threatening at possible, but inside he was doing his damnest to figure out what he had done to piss off the silver haired man. Kakashi actually looked frustrated as he stared him down and that made Naruto very wearily. Again, he thought about how he did not know this incarnation of Kakashi, this time he thought perhaps it wasn't as exciting as he originally thought.

The ANBU looked like he wanted to say something but instead knitted his brows together and squeezed his wrist harder. Naruto licked his lips in understanding. He'd done something that Kakashi clearly was having a hard time accepting, though he hadn't the faintest clue what the hell that was.

"ANBU," He said as respectfully as he could manage, "I am sorry if I have upset you."

His wrist was released immediately but the glare he was receiving from Kakashi did not let up. Naruto was starting to get frustrated as well. He just wanted to smack Kakashi and yell at him to spit it out. Doing so probably was certain death at this point, so Naruto kept his hands at his side.

"You…" Again Kakashi fumbled for his words, "Are not…right."

Naruto's eyes widened and he found himself going very still, his breath stilling in his lungs. It was clear that the ANBU was unsatisfied with his word choice and he gave a grunt, running a gloved hand over his left eye and for a horrible moment Naruto thought he was going to pull the headband back but then his fingers traveled upwards, running through his short hair.

"That night-" Kakashi shook his head. "How do you know me?"

"What-"

"Don't deny it. I-" The silver haired ANBU fumbled over his words and instantly Naruto knew that this was the source for his future teacher's irritation. Silently he cursed himself. Kakashi must have seen far more then he meant anyone to that night at the hill. How long had Kakashi watched him? Did Naruto even know?

The next question caught him completely off guard. And for a moment he could only stare at his future teacher his lips set in a grim line.

* * *

The child that stood in front of him was a complete enigma to Kakashi. And as a general rule, he hated mysteries. Oh, he was more then aware of what the brat was but it was the demon that was currently sleeping in his belly that drove Kakashi to visiting the one place he swore he never would.

He held no love for the container in front of him. The being locked inside of him had brought nothing but death to the ones he dared to love. He had refused any time he had ever been assigned to 'watch over' the youth and up until this point he had had no contact with the beast.

Even now, he found that word becoming harder to say in reference to the child in front of him. Undeniably malnourished for his age, Naruto Uzumaki was short, skinny and looked ragged, with a mop of hair the color of dry straw and tired blue eyes. Completely unthreatening in appearance, quite pathetic looking actually. Kakashi had seen the kid many times in his years of service – but he had never seen the boy looked so run down. Nor had he ever cared before. Yet since that night Kakashi saw him with fresh eyes.

There was a weary grace, a bravery and calmness he had never seen or ever even heard in reference to the boy before as he reacted to him. He had sensed Kakashi presence before he had even arrived, something he had not thought the boy would even be capable of doing. But what galled him the most was the lack of fear – lack of general interest in him that irritated him.

He had walked in, covered from head to toe in blood in a blatant attempt of intimidation and the brat had made him tea. He had not tried to escape his grasps, had not paniced or lashed out at him as he had expected the Jinchuriki to.

He just stared up at him with those damnable placid eyes. The boy radiated an air of neutrality that a six year old had not right to have. Especially not Naruto Uzumaki! Kakashi would have been content living the rest of his damn days without ever having to look onto this thing before him but that night! That night had left him no choice! Driving at his thoughts like an annoying gnat until he'd come to this rundown hell hole.

Even now, as he stood there, the night replayed itself in his mind.

_Kakashi jumped silently across the tree tops. He was eager to return home and shield himself from this bone penetrating cold. Another stupid currier mission. He was an ANBU, why was he being used in such a way?_

_But who was he to question the orders of the Hokage? His jumps stilled and then stopped all together as he became aware of a rather small figure standing on one of the more scenic hills of Konoha. Lit by the moonlight, the child seemed unreal. He could not have old enough to even be entered into the Academy._

_What is a child doing out here at this hour?_

_Kakashi slid into the field behind the boy, his feet making no sound regardless of the thick packing snow beneath him. The child was profiled to him, staring up at the sky blankly. The young ANBU followed his gaze upward to find that surprising the full moon was not his object of attention. Instead he seemed simply content on watching the thick snow flakes fall._

_The boy's face was completely red and he had no gloves on his equally red hands. Kakashi opened his mouth to tell him to go home and stop being stupid but found himself strangely unwilling to break the silence around them. The child stood stock still; the only signs of life were the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders with each breath._

_He had never seen a child be so still before. And as time marched on, measure by the snow drifts that were climbing up the boy's legs, Kakashi gave a jolt when he realized just _who _this boy was._

_Naruto Uzumaki. The demon child. _

_Before he could fully process the thought Naruto seemed to become aware of his presence. Kakashi felt a shiver run down his spine as he found himself staring into to oddly vacant eyes._

_But even as he watched, the blue eyes came to life. The boy's eyebrows furled as he stared at him and then relaxed as recognition filled those eyes. Recognition and something else – something that made Kakashi's breath catch._

_The emotion was gone before he could identify it, replaced with something he easily knew as terror. Then the boy was sprinting from him, running at an incredible speed for someone who had been exposed to the elements for so long._

_But Kakashi stayed glued to the spot, watching as the Jinchuriki grew smaller and smaller in the city streets below. Something had inside him was twisting and Kakashi had no idea what. _

He was positive that boy knew him somehow – knew something about him that went beyond his reputation proper.

Try as he might, Kakashi could not banish those eyes from his mind. It was driving him mad – all he could think about were the shift Naruto's eyes. No one had ever looked at him like that. He had never liked mysteries, especially not when he was the one without the answers.

And he hated being confused even more. He was terribly confused and it was all the brat's fault. He was positive that Naruto held the answers to his questions. And he was sure as hell going to get them. The blonde boy had dropped his gaze to his boots when questioned and had yet to answer. Did Kakashi mention he had no patience when it came to getting what he wanted? Because he didn't.

He resisted to the urge to smack the container and gripped his chin tightly before roughly pulling it up to look at him and repeated his question. Forcefully. "Who are you?"

Kakashi knew how he wanted him to reply. To say something about the demon he contained or show some other knowledge he wasn't suppose to know about his predicament. Then Kakashi could simply write it off to the demon and get on with his life.

Then he could get those damn eyes out of his head.

Staring into the neutral blue eyes was liking throwing fuel onto his frustration. Especially when the boy did not speak. He shook the boy's chin, ignoring the grim look of what was mostly likely pain flashed across the kid's face. The answer Naruto gave him made Kakashi nearly hiss in his irritation.

"I am me."

* * *

Naruto watched as emotions played out across his once teacher's face. All of them didn't generally bode well for him. The alarm that sounded seconds later saved him from further conversation, but it did nothing but fill his heart with dread.

He watched as Kakashi sprinted from the room and out the window – heading towards what Naruto knew was the Uchiha compound. He watched as the night sky lit up and more alarms sounded.

Naruto's feet were soundless as he moved to the deck, rapidly cooling tea in hand. Though the compound was to far away for him to see, he kept his eyes trained in its direction. He leaned heavily on the balcony, cradling his tea in both hands and wished he had hisshemagh to hide behind.

He wanted to flee to somewhere where he couldn't hear the sirens, but Naruto did not allow himself to move. Instead he let his eyes close shut, a lump filling his throat as a shrill, boyish scream echoed across his enhanced hearing.

Slowly, he brought his tea to his lips and drank.

* * *

_Part 2: Grief and Anger_

Naruto walked silently through the afternoon, ignoring the glares he was receiving. He did his best to avoid crowds, as he always had since his arrival into the past, but he took extra care this time around. It seemed whenever anything ever went wrong with the village, it was his fault. Bu Naruto was far beyond the point where that hurt him anymore.

His ache for the Haji had become a low hum in the back of mind and while he still missed his tribe and the family he had there, Naruto was truly capable of accepting that he may never see them again. He would see Gaara again and that was all that mattered.

Grief and anger were palpable in the air, it had only been a week since the Uchiha Massacre. The tension in the city had not cooled. Itachi could not be found. Kakashi had not come to visit him again and for that Naruto was glad. He assumed that the ANBU was hunting, just like all the other ANBU were.

He also knew there was no way in hell they were going to find Itachi. He'd spent the last three months considering his options, the black haired boy who would become his teammate never leaving his mind. The regret that filled for being so damn helpless ate at him like few things had in this world. What was the point of him being here? Was this hell? Was his punishment to witness the events that destroyed many of his friends and be too weak to stop it?

Until the massacre, Naruto had managed a very simple life. He got up, he trained, he ate and then he slept. This was the first time he found himself faced with the simple fact that he could not live in that wonderful world of complete isolation.

Just like with the old man, his mind had made a decision seemingly without actually ever consciously doing so. Which was why he was now heading for the small house they were keeping Sasuke in. He didn't know what he was going to do once he got there, or even how he was going to get in.

He could not save Sasuke from this tragedy but Naruto would be damned if he had to go through it alone again. He remember all to vividly all the times when he had been younger and wanted to approach the other boy, knowing that he was an orphan as well. Only his fear – and jealousy - of Sasuke had kept him back.

But he had no fear of him now. He knew every inch of Sasuke. He had been his best and only friend until he met Gaara. Even now, Naruto fully realized the only reason why he ever clicked with either dark boy was because all three of them had unbelievably terrible childhoods. Sasuke had realized all too late that he hadn't needed to be alone in his anger. He had spoken similar words to him in some sort of apology, as he lay dying in Naruto's arms. The last Uchiha's blood had stained his forehead protector to such an extent, he never wore it again.

He still no idea how to handle the upcoming events. At some point, he would sit down and really think hard about what the hell he should do, but right now Naruto could only handle taking it one day at time. And today, he was going to Sasuke.

Naruto's feet slowed as he came near the house were he knew they were keeping the Uchiha heir. He reached out tentatively, locating the charka pattern that was like second nature to him – and winced when he felt the Hokage's signature. Naruto clicked his tongue, nothing could ever be easy, could it? He allowed himself to take a deep breath and reached out once more and felt him_._ For a moment he just stood there,simply basking in the fact that yes, Sasuke was alive.

And that's when it really hit him. Sasuke was _alive._ And so was Kakashi. And Sakura. And everyone else. He doubled over; trying to catch his breath as emotions suddenly swamped him. He had no idea why it had taken him so long to truly grasp this but he found himself weak in the knees. He rested his hands on his knees, pushing backwards so his knees wouldn't buckle. Tears stung his eyes and Naruto closed them, trying desperately to get a hold of his emotions.

The snow in front of him made a distinctive crunching sound and he knew without opening his eyes that the Hokage had found him. He took a deep breath and when he straightened, he was in control again. He looked up at the old man, then to his ANBU entourage. He could feel their combined dislike rolling towards him like a wave.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" The events had left the Hokage with a drawn, exhausted look and the frown that took his face upon seeing Naruto only made him look even older.

"I've come to see Sasuke." One of the ANBU actually twitched at that.

The old man sighed and leaned on his staff, eyeing him strangely. "I don't think that's entirely wise right now, Naruto. I wasn't aware the two of you were friends."

"We're not." Naruto stared up at the Hokage, "But that doesn't change why I'm here."

The Hokage stared at him for a moment. After a moment he sighed, bringing a hand up to tilt his hat slightly, then it placed itself heavily on his head. Naruto blinked in surprise as the hand buried itself slightly in his hair.

"I see that we have much to talk about Naruto. I apologize that I've been so busy lately. It seems I have missed something entirely."

Naruto stiffened, but then abandoned the strange fear that came with those words. He didn't give a crap if the old man didn't think he was acting like a six year old. He wanted to see Sasuke.

"You can see him for a few minutes." He held up a hand to silence the protests behind him, "Don't tax him."

He gave the Hokage a look of utter gratitude before making his way towards the house, turning deaf ears to the eruption of protests behind him.

* * *

Sasuke had assumed he was another one of the stupid guards, coming to try and make him eat something. But when he looked up, he found it was a kid his own age, staring at him in a way that instantly made him hate him.

"I'm sorry about your family." The boy said softly. Sasuke felt like strangling him. He was sorry? Didn't he think he had had enough damn't condolences to last him his entire lifetime? His family was dead. His brother had killed them and he, he was too weak to do anything.

Never again. Never again would this happen. He'd get stronger and then he'd kill him. Itachi…He realized the boy was still staring at him and Sasuke threw him a heated glare.

"Go away. I don't want your pity." His voice was like ice, how it should remain. He needed to be strong. He was an avenger. He needed to reclaim his clan's honor. He needed –

He watched in shock as the boy snorted and threw his snow covered jacket onto the floor before shrugging indifferently. "Afraid I can't do that."

"Like hell you can't!" Sasuke sprung to his feet. How dare this idiot waste his time! He just wanted to be left alone! He had so much to think about, so much to try and figure out. He didn't have time to play silly games with fools! "How did you get by the guards? Leave!"

The boy shrugged again before crossing the room to stand in front of him. Sasuke entire body felt like it was quivering with his fury. Who the hell was this kid? How dare he intrude on his time of grief! When the blonde spoke again, it was in a low, almost soft tone that stilled the vicious verbal bashing that was building on his lips.

"I don't have much time Sasuke-"

"Good!" He snapped, "Leave me the hell alone!"

It was if the boy in front of him shifted completely, instead of the sadness that had been there, this emotion was different. It was a mix of pity and something worse - understanding.

How the hell could that fool understand his pain? He'd just seen his entire family killed before his eyes!

"Do you really want to be alone that much Sasuke?" The look the boy was giving him was setting him on edge. "Being alone doesn't make you strong – it makes you fucking lonely."

Grief flared up at those words as he allowed himself to think of his mother's face but he banished the images as soon as they came, burying them deep underneath his cloud of anger. He didn't want to see them! He didn't want to think of them! How dare this nobody come into his room and look at he, Sasuke Uchiha, like that!

He needed no ones pity!

"I-" Sasuke faltered at the expression on the blonde's face. "Stop looking at me like that!"

But the look didn't stop. It stroked his anger into existence worse then anything he'd experienced so far and that included a visit from the Hyuuga heads with their 'deepest apologies.'

"Stop it!"

"Sasuke-" Hearing the look actually personified in the boy's voice was the last straw. He just snapped, before he knew what he was doing he was on the kid, punching him with all his might. He knocked the blonde over, pinning him by his waist and raining blows down on him.

He punched until his arms hurt. But it didn't help his anger at all. The kid wasn't even trying to avoid the hits! And even as Sasuke punched one of those eyes in, they still stared up at him with that same damn look. In exhaustion he slowed and then stopped all together. The bruised boy stared up at him, that look never leaving his face. Sasuke shuddered and was horrified to find that tears were falling in thick, hot streams down his cheeks. He hadn't cried since he had seen his brother, to cry now! What a step backwards!

A low, keening sound filled the room and again, like with the tears, Sasuke was shocked to find it coming from him. The boy reached up and rolled them until Sasuke lay on the carpet. Silently the boy stretched out next to him on his side, his blue eyes never leaving his face. In the end Sasuke had to close his eyes to escape them. But as suddenly as the tears had come, they ended. But the grief that seem to fill him didn't lessen. Sasuke's hands were cool on his face as he pushed his bangs from his sweaty forehead and looked at the bruised kid next to him.

Sasuke had never met this boy before. The dedication and tenderness in those blue eyes frightened him. What could he have possibly done to have this boy look at him like that? A shiver went down his spine. Despite the boy's oddness, he was glad somehow…

"Who are you?" He choked out in frustration, somehow not capable of vocalizing what he wanted.

"I'm your new best friend. But you can just call me Naruto."

"Why are you here?"

Naruto rolled onto his back, lying shoulder to shoulder with him on the carpet. "Because I'm alone too."

"Oh."

* * *

Kakashi was fun to write, ah, I didn't mean for Naruto to get his ass kicked by two out of his three current favorite people in the world, but somehow it ended up that way. I'm having fun with playing with personalities were not much has been written. I'm having fun with nomad Naruto as well! He's fun in his own way!

As always, with any canon plot changes you see, this is an AU. I don't claim to be as knowledgeable or as obsessed (that's right, I went there ^_~) as some readers.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!

**Word Bank:**

**Hadi** - The Desert Name given to Naruto once he joined the tribe and became Naib, means 'Guiding Light"

**The Harj** - literally, "Desert Journey/Migration. Refers to the constant nomadic lifestyle of the Naruto's people.

**Jinchuriki **– Humans with demons sealed inside them (I.E. Naruto and Gaara).

**Shemagh **- a traditional covering of the face that protects the wearer from wind and sand.


End file.
